SPACED out

(Comic-Con 2011 is over...but here's more recollections of Comic-Con past...)

I've been an Anglophile for most of my adult life. I studied British lit, went to London for my year abroad, followed Britpop since I was a kid, worked for several British companies, etc. etc. And of course, I love me some British comedy.

Some of my fave Britcoms include: The Office, Coupling, Mighty Boosh, and Little Britain, but the one that gets me right in the geekribs is SPACED. The show featured comic books, video games, raves, zombies, Star Wars and plenty of 90s influenced geek and Brit pop culture -- and a love story. More importantly, it led to the creation of one of my favorite films of ALL TIME: Shaun of the Dead.

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (along with genius director Edgar Wright) were at the core of both of these (and the equally awesome Hot Fuzz) and I got the pleasure of meeting all three of them -- on separate occasions! -- at Comic Con 2010.

I actually interviewed Edgar Wright for Morgan's project and had a great time speaking with him. He was visibly exhausted and he expressed as much since he was promoting Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (anyone that attended SDCC 2010 was well aware that the film had intense presence all over -- from special events, giveaways, panels, etc. and the HUGE mosaic on one of the major hotels by the convention center -- the film didn't do that great at the box office, but it was amazing and a very close to the beloved indie comic series) and was still busy working on the film. Super nice. I hope he got some sleep that night though.

The next day, I was meeting a buddy for a drink at the Hard Rock Hotel's bar. (FYI: Lots of media folk set up camp at the Hard Rock and tons of celebs end up coming through all day) I go into the bar and practically walk right into Simon Pegg. (Funny thing: wasn't the first time I had run into him. I actually took a long elevator ride with him once -- he was promoting Hot Fuzz and I worked in the same building -- a little place called Madison Square Garden.) I could tell that he wanted to keep things low key and was avoiding the masses outside. We walked over to the bar and talked for a little bit and he told me he and Nick Frost were at the Con to promote Paul. I got a chance to tell him how much I loved his work. Cheers, mate. Awesome.

Not much later that day, I went out for a break and end up sitting next to Nick Frost and his wife who are having a cigarette. Ended up talking for a good 20 minutes about the Con and his love of geeky things. Turns out when he was younger he wanted to work in publishing and for my old company! We hung out for a bit and he told me a bit about their wedding and their trip to San Diego. Nick's wife actually took this picture of the two of us mugging for the camera. Such a cool couple that really took time to talk to me and be real.


The only thing that would have been cooler was to have taken a picture with all three of them and some zombies! The hat trick, the trifecta... only at Comic-Con.